If you’re anything like me, then this quarantine probably has you bored out of your mind, doing homework, (re)reading fiction books, (re)watching your favorite movies, and most importantly, (re)playing your favorite video games.
My video game shelf consists mostly of platforming games, and many of them were not released within the last five to ten years; however, I found that a racing game, a puzzle game, a first person shooter game, and a role playing game made this list. (After finishing the article, I realized that the majority of the list consists of Nintendo games, so if you’re not a Nintendo fan, I’m so sorry.)
There are only two rules for this list: 1) The game must be for a console — not an app for the phone or a game for a handheld device, and 2) I have to have played it before. Get back to your teenage-Friday-night-game-binge with these five games.
1) Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy was the first videogame I got for my wii when I got them both for Christmas on my ninth birthday (that’s not a mistake — my birthday is on Christmas Day), so it holds a special place in my heart as the first 3D platforming game I owned. In this out-of-this-world game, Bowser stole all the power stars from the newly introduced space-lady Rosalina and her lumas’ spaceship and used the power to kidnap Princess Peach to take her to the center of the universe. Mario has to restore power to Rosalina’s spaceship by collecting power stars from galaxies across the universe, which he then uses to defeat Bowser and rescue Peach. While the concept of collecting power stars made its debut in Mario 64 for the N64, Super Mario Galaxy takes that concept to the next level by using the Wii’s motion controls to introduce the spin power. The spin power was completely brand new to the franchise, allowing Mario to break crystals and jump a little higher, making platforming a bit more difficult. My absolute favorite part of the game, however, is Rosalina’s storybook. As you collect new power stars, you unlock new chapters of her book. The book tells Rosalina’s backstory — how she meets a luma, leaves earth, finds a comet, turns it into a starship, and becomes the mother of all the lumas in the universe. It was the most creative way for Nintendo to introduce a new character in an in-depth manner without disrupting the plot of the game. Another unique aspect of this game is the Prankster Comets, which occasionally pass by galaxies and make them “go haywire.” Some comets put time limits on obtaining stars, some make you complete levels with only one piece of health, some make you race an intergalactic version of Mario (which is INCREDIBLY PESKY), and some fill the galaxies with purple coins, of which Mario must collect 100 to get the power star. These pose unique challenges to the player in each level.
2) Halo
I spent every weekend for three years of my life playing games from the Halo series with my best friend when we were in high school. While I am not a particular fan of first-person-shooting (FPS) games, I found this one to be the best of the ones I’ve played (because I can’t seem to win at Fortnite). You play as Master Chief through all the games, essentially trying to keep the Halo rings (which are weapons) from destroying the universe … Apparently I have a thing for space games. Halo 4 is my favorite, because that is the one I played with my best friend the most, and we have great memories of finally making it through the tough spots in the story mode. We also played snipers online, and we were unstoppable once we discovered the secret spot in the Ragnarok map (I’m not telling you where it is because then you’ll beat me). Halo 2 is my second favorite of the series because shooting the flood is INCREDIBLY satisfying, and the game features a song by my favorite band. Seriously, shooting those spider-looking creatures with a shotgun and watching them explode is really, really satisfying. I’ll be honest, I haven’t finished Halo 5 because it’s not co-op, which is the worst choice the game developers at 343 Industries made — I never owned a single game: We played them all on my best friend’s XBox. The best part about the Halo series is playing the story mode with your friends (or siblings, or roommates, or whoever you are quarantined with). It’s a great, violent game to bond over while you are stuck in your house.
3) Dr. Mario
This retro game won’t prevent coronavirus, but it will cure you of boredom. First released for the Super Nintendo a really long time ago, Dr. Mario is a puzzle game similar to Tetris where you have to defeat the virus in each level by lining them up with pills that are the same color. There are three colors total: red, blue and yellow. Each pill has two sides, which are usually two different colors but sometimes are the same. The game has 20 levels, each level introducing more of the virus. If you beat all 20, there’s a secret level 21 that you can play, but if you don’t beat it then you have to beat level 20 again to get back to it. I have a confession to make: I have never actually beaten level 21. The pills fall so fast and there’s so much virus that I just can’t get them all down in the right place. That’s right, this game is actually challenging, which makes it perfect for defeating boredom. This great is fantastic to play with whoever you are quarantined with because you will establish a friendly rivalry with them — I play this game every time I visit my boyfriend’s parents, and I have yet to beat his dad and his brother. There will be a day when it happens, and I will revel in the satisfaction. The other thing about this game I love is the music. It has two soundtracks: chill and fever. They sound very pixelated, as most SNES games did at the time. It’s very upbeat and makes me happy. Dr. Mario is also available on the Wii and Wii U for you more modern gamers.
4) Mariokart
Mariokart Wii, Mariokart 8 and Mariokart 8 Deluxe are my favorites because they utilize the motion control, but any Mariokart game is a ton of fun to play with your friends. I taught my seven-year-old sister how to play Mariokart 8 on our Wii U when she was like four, and she loves it so much that we just bought the Deluxe version for her on the Nintendo Switch for her birthday. She was so excited when she got first place in a race for the first time. What makes this game so great is how much chaos goes on — you race along courses in the Mario universe while simultaneously trying to pummel your opponents with items, such as Koopa Troopa shells, banana peels, Bomb-ombs, and my sister’s favorite, the Banzai Bill. The catch is that certain items only appear when you are in certain places — if you’re in first place, you will mostly get banana peels and green shells from item boxes, whereas if you are in sixth, you may get the invincibility powerup or a Bomb-omb or a Piranha Plant or a Supershroom or a Boomerang, or a whatever-I-forgot. If you have no idea what any of those are, go play Mariokart and you’ll understand. The best part about this game is that it’s for any age. I’ve played it with my sister when she was little, I’ve played it with my dad, and I’ve played it with my best friends. I’ve also played it as a drinking game at a party, which was fantastic. You can also play the most recent versions of Mariokart online with people from all over the world, so if you’ve already obtained all the first place trophies and want something harder to do, you can race others online for more of a challenge.
5) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
This game is last on the list because of the infinite number of hours it takes to complete the game. Seriously, my Switch tells me I’ve put more than 1,000 hours into this game over the last two years, and that was after I first played it on the XBox for three years. Skyrim is an open-world role playing game where you create your own character and fight dragons in the medieval land of Skyrim. While the main story consists of beating the dragon Alduin and stopping the literal end of the world, there are a multitude of side stories you can partake in as well, such as becoming a soldier in a civil war, professional thief, assassin, or a nobleman. Things get interesting when you decide to do all of them, as some of the outcomes of one side story affect another side story, or even the main story. The cool thing about Skyrim is that many choices you make affect the outcome of the game permanently (by permanently I mean until you start a new character). Skyrim also has three DLC’s you can add on, but the version for the Nintendo Switch already includes them. The Switch and Playstation VR allow motion controls for Skyrim, which includes swinging swords, aiming bows and blocking with shields, however I found the motion controls rather disruptive to playing the game on my Switch, so I turned them off. My favorite thing about Skyrim is how peaceful the game is. The developers at Bethesda really put so much detail into the nature graphics of the game, so the environment is very relaxing to stroll through. Additionally, the musical score by Jeremy Soule is also beautiful and calming (you know, until a dragon pops up randomly and the fight music starts), so that in combination with the nature environment makes this the perfect game to have a Romantic experience. I typically play this game to relax — I’m not going to lie, I have fallen asleep playing this game because of how calming the ambiance is. But it’s not boring — there are hundreds of caves and buildings to explore, lots of enemies to fight, and lots of artifacts to discover.
If I missed any of your favorite games, let me know and I'll be sure to play them. I mean, it's not like I'm doing anything else during this quarantine.
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